Life-style and Other Characteristics of Radiation Workers at Nuclear Facilities in Japan: Base-line Data of a Questionnaire Survey.

Murata, Motoi; Miyake, Toshio; Inoue, Yasushi; Ohshima, Sumio; Kudo, Shinichi; Yoshimura, Takesumi; Akiba, Suminori; Tango, Toshiro; Yoshimoto, Yasuhiko; Shimizu, Yukiko; Sobue, Tomotaka; Kusumi, Shizuyo; Iwasaki, Tamiko; Yamagishi, Chikao; Matsudaira, Hiromichi

doi:10.2188/jea.12.310

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Factors such as smoking can confound the association between radiation dose and risk only if they are related both to risk of cancer and to dose. Some cohort studies have found an association between radiation dose and smoking,17 18 while others have not 19 – 21…”

Section: All Cancer Excluding Leukaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries

Cardis

Vrijheid

Blettner³

et al. 2005

BMJ

539

324

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Objectives To provide direct estimates of risk of cancer after protracted low doses of ionising radiation and to strengthen the scientific basis of radiation protection standards for environmental, occupational, and medical diagnostic exposures. Design Multinational retrospective cohort study of cancer mortality. Setting Cohorts of workers in the nuclear industry in 15 countries. Participants 407 391 workers individually monitored for external radiation with a total follow-up of 5.2 million person years. Main outcome measurements Estimates of excess relative risks per sievert (Sv) of radiation dose for mortality from cancers other than leukaemia and from leukaemia excluding chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, the main causes of death considered by radiation protection authorities. Results The excess relative risk for cancers other than leukaemia was 0.97 per Sv, 95% confidence interval 0.14 to 1.97. Analyses of causes of death related or unrelated to smoking indicate that, although confounding by smoking may be present, it is unlikely to explain all of this increased risk. The excess relative risk for leukaemia excluding chronic lymphocytic leukaemia was 1.93 per Sv ( < 0 to 8.47). On the basis of these estimates, 1-2% of deaths from cancer among workers in this cohort may be attributable to radiation. Conclusions These estimates, from the largest study of nuclear workers ever conducted, are higher than, but statistically compatible with, the risk estimates used for current radiation protection standards. The results suggest that there is a small excess risk of cancer, even at the low doses and dose rates typically received by nuclear workers in this study.

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Section: All Cancer Excluding Leukaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries

Cardis

Vrijheid

Blettner³

et al. 2005

BMJ

539

324

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Thus, the possibility of confounding by smoking depends on how much smoking is correlated with radiation dose; this varies from population to population. Our Japanese cohort showed a strong confounding effect of smoking [12,13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study results through 1997 have already been published as the first, second, and most recent analyses [10][11][12], which reported the possibility of lifestyle factors confounding the relationship between radiation dose and cancer mortality among nuclear workers in Japan. To examine non-radiation factors among nuclear workers, the IRE conducted lifestyle questionnaire surveys among different samples of workers in 1997 and 2003, finding a positive correlation between radiation doses and smoking rates [13]. This correlation means that adjustment for smoking actually reduces radiation risk estimates.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct adjustment for confounding by smoking reduces radiation-related cancer risk estimates of mortality among male nuclear workers in Japan, 1999–2010

et al. 2018

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A causal relationship between protracted exposure to low-dose rate radiation and health effects remains unclear despite extensive international studies of nuclear workers. One potential reason is that radiation epidemiological studies that adjust for tobacco smoking, which heavily influences mortality, have been limited. In the present study, we examined radiation-related cancer risk by directly assessing the possible confounding effect of smoking, using data from two questionnaire surveys performed among Japanese nuclear workers in 1997 and 2003. Mortality follow-up was carried out for 71 733 male respondents for an average of 8.2 years during the observation period of 1999-2010. The mean cumulative dose was 25.5 mSv at the end of the follow-up period. Estimates of excess relative risk per Sv (ERRs/Sv) were obtained by Poisson regression. By adjusting for smoking directly on the basis of a linear dose-response model, we quantified the confounding effects of smoking on radiation risks. Statistically significant ERRs/Sv were found for all causes, all diseases, all non-cancer diseases, and liver cancer: 0.97 (90% confidence interval: 0.23, 1.78), 1.32 (0.40, 2.34), 1.87 (0.47, 3.49), and 4.78 (0.09, 11.68), respectively, without adjustment for smoking. However, the ERRs/Sv were no longer statistically significant after adjustment for smoking: 0.45 (-0.22, 1.19), 0.77 (-0.08, 1.72), 1.28 (-0.03, 2.79), and 3.89 (-0.46, 10.34), respectively. The ERRs/Sv for all cancers excluding leukaemia and lung cancer were not significant before adjustment for smoking, but declined after adjustment for smoking. The present study demonstrates that in this cohort of workers, smoking heavily distorts radiation risk estimates of mortality. The possibility of confounding by smoking depends on how strongly smoking is correlated with radiation exposure. If a correlation between smoking and radiation dose is suggested, smoking is an important confounder when assessing the radiation and health risks.

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“…Benzene is an established myeloid leukemogen. 36,37) We administered a lifestyle questionnaire survey from 1997 38) and 2003 to a sample of worker and obtained information on the occupational history of benzene. However, there were no deceased with an occupational history of benzene, so we could not discuss benzene's effect.…”

Section: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (Aml)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Radiation Exposure and Leukemia Mortality among Nuclear Workers in Japan: J-EPISODE, 1991-2010

Kudo

Yoshimoto

Furuta

et al. 2018

Jpn. J. Health Phys.

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Whether exposure to radiation at low dose and at low dose rate is related to leukemia mortality and morbidity remains controversial. Cohort studies of nuclear workers chronically exposed to radiation at low dose and at low dose rate in their come mostly from Western countries, with few from Asian countries. The present study aimed to examine radiation's effects on mortality from leukemia, in a cohort of Japanese nuclear workers. The cohort consisted of 204,103 workers, who were followed from 1991 to 2010, with a total of 2.89 million person-years. The mean age and mean cumulative dose at the age at the end of follow-up were 55.6 years and 13.8 mSv. During the study, 209 leukemia deaths were observed. The linear excess-mortality was not observed in this study of Japanese nuclear workers. The cohort, however, is still young. Further followup is needed to obtain more reliable estimates of leukemia risks for Japanese workers exposed to low dose and low-dose rate radiation.

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Life-style and Other Characteristics of Radiation Workers at Nuclear Facilities in Japan: Base-line Data of a Questionnaire Survey.

Cited by 18 publications

References 17 publications

Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries

Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries

Direct adjustment for confounding by smoking reduces radiation-related cancer risk estimates of mortality among male nuclear workers in Japan, 1999–2010

Occupational Radiation Exposure and Leukemia Mortality among Nuclear Workers in Japan: J-EPISODE, 1991-2010

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